20 worst A-Braves pitchers

S0 20 pitchers was a bit ambitious. Life’s too short to waste it parsing the stats of Jim Panther and Randy O’Neal. Besides, Frank LaCorte was so bad he deserves four spots. While this list wasn’t completed in order of suckitude, no Braves pitcher sucked more than LaCorte, though [...]

Bobby’s last major move as Braves GM was his worst, though strangely it worked out for the best. Murph had been on the trading block for a year, and at one point Bobby was near a deal with the Mets that would’ve brought Lenny Dykstra, Howard Johnson and Rick Aguilera to Atlanta. It [...]

Rick’s brother is the fourth member of the ’77 Braves to make our list. Though Rick had the better career, Mickey, a hard-throwing southpaw with a 12-6 curve, was the more highly regarded of the siblings. He debuted with the Braves in ’77 following the second no-hitter of his [...]

First, some self-flagellation. While looking for old posts eviscerating Dan Kolb, I came across these nuggets: Two things you’re going to get sick of hearing me say: the Bravos need Dontrelle Willis, and Ryan Langerhans is the next Paul O’Neill. Two predictions: “Yosty” is [...]

The 70s Braves had some outstanding pitchers: Pat Dobson, Andy Messersmith, Denny McLain, Gary Gentry … Unfortunately, their best days were well behind them by the time they arrived in A-town. And so it was with Blue Moon Odom, acquired along with Rob Belloir from the Indians in 1975 after a [...]

Jason Schmidt wasn’t as good as you remember. He was mediocre at best for the Pirates after they acquired him from Atlanta in the Denny Neagle trade. It wasn’t until he landed in San Francisco did he emerge as one of the league’s best starters, twice finishing in the top 5 for [...]

The 2007 season was marked by the acquisition of Borasbot (and the depletion of the farm system). The trade was supposed to put the Braves over the top but they were doomed by a porous rotation beyond Huddy and Smoltz. Fellow 20 worsters Kyle Davies, Jo-Jo Reyes and Mark Redman received a [...]

The acquisition of Bob Walk from the Phillies ranked 6th on our list of the 10 worst trades in A-Braves history, and for those of us who loved Gary Matthews the deal was an even tougher pill to swallow. Sarge had been a force in the Braves line-up during the late 1970s but was coming off his worst [...]

The 1990 Braves had Justice, Gant, Smoltz, Glavine and Avery. The pieces were in place for their historic turnaround in 1991. They also had the worst ‘pen in team history. No one saved more than 8 games. The Braves recorded 30 saves in all, blowing 22 opportunities. Charlie Kerfeld, Dwayne [...]

On a cold drizzly night in Boston in May 2005, Kyle Davies made his major league debut, and it was a gem. Facing a line-up featuring Johnny Damon, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Jason Varitek — all in their primes — Davies pitched five shutout innings, striking out 6. Four nights later he [...]

Jamie Easterly is the third pitcher from the ’77 Braves — which finished with a league-worst 4.85 ERA — to make our list, joining Don Collins and Preston Hanna. Like Collins and Hanna, Easterly was a high draft pick, selected in the 2nd round in 1971. Until Bill Lucas came along [...]

There was a time, believe it or not, when it appeared Jo-Jo Reyes would deliver on his potential. From May 28 to June 29, 2008, Jo-Jo started 7 games, pitching into the 7th inning in all but one. Against Milwaukee on the 28th he struck out 9 in 7 innings, giving up just 2 hits and one run. On the [...]

It says something about my Braves geekdom that I remember Don Collins, one of many terrible relievers who toiled for the ’77 Braves. Expect at least two more pitchers from that team, which finished with a league-worst 4.85 ERA, to make our list in addition to Collins and Preston Hanna, #18. [...]

In what had to be the least satisfying trade in MLB history, the Braves sent pitchers Kevin Coffman and Kevin Blankenship to the Cubs for Jody Davis. The two hurlers combined to win 1 for Chicago while Davis hit .161 in 267 AB’s as a Brave, earning him a spot on our countdown of the 20 worst [...]

On June 18, 1978, Preston Hanna beat the Pirates, improving to 6-1 with a 3.07 ERA. It appeared the 23-year-old right-hander was well on his way to fulfilling the promise that had made him a first round pick six years earlier. Alas, it was not to be. He didn’t make it out of the second inning [...]

Craig Wilson (remember him?) started at 1B. Chris Woodward hit lead-off and played second base. Tyler Yates and Oscar Villarreal had cameos. And on the mound to start the 2007 home opener? Veteran southpaw Mark Redman, whose stay in Atlanta was blessedly brief. His first start as a Brave, on a [...]

The Braves traded a future Hall of Famer to acquire Denny McLain halfway through the 1972 season. Granted, Orlando Cepeda was nearing the end of his career, though he’d have one more productive year before retiring. McLain, however, was done by the time he got to Atlanta. He was worth a [...]

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